Boston Priest in Abuse Scandal Defrocked

Friday May 7, 2004 1:46 PM


Associated Press Writer
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BOSTON (AP) - Paul Shanley, a central figure in the child-molestation scandal that engulfed the Boston Archdiocese, has been defrocked, along with another priest imprisoned for raping a 12-year-old boy, the church announced Thursday.

In a letter dated May 3 and obtained by The Associated Press, Archbishop Sean O'Malley informed Shanley that Pope John Paul II decided on Feb. 19 to remove him from the priesthood.

The archdiocese released a statement later Thursday confirming Shanley's dismissal, and announced that Ronald H. Paquin - who was sentenced in 2002 to 12 to 15 years behind bars for raping an altar boy - also was defrocked. Paquin, 61, also was named in 24 lawsuits alleging he sexually molested other children.

Shanley, 73, is awaiting trial on charges of raping four boys at a parish in Newton in the 1980s. He is free on $300,000 bail. His trial is set for October.
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More:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uslatest/story/0,1282,-4063837,00.html

People have burned in Hell for less !